Proposed bill calls for chipping pets

A newly-proposed bill would require all adopted or impounded pets to be fitted with a microchip.

On Thursday, bill author and State Senator Lieu joined pet owners in front of the capitol in Sacramento where animals were implanted with free chips.

The devices make it easier to reunite lost pets with their owners.

Each year, California shelters take in nearly a million dogs and cats, half of which are euthanized because their owners cannot be found.

"Folks who have pets who are not micro chipped," Senator Lieu said. "If they get lost, there is only a 13 percent chance they are returned. If you have a microchip in your pet, about 74 percent of the time you will get your animal back."

The Controller's Office says sheltering and euthanizing lost pets costs the state about $300 million per year.